Durham University Partner Site
UTOPIAE is a European research and training network looking at cutting edge methods bridging optimisation and uncertainty quantification applied to aerospace systems. The network will run from 2017 to 2021, and is funded by the European Commission through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of H2020.
The network is made up of 15 partners across 6 European countries, including Durham University in the UK, and one international partner in the USA, collecting mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists from academia, industry, public and private sectors.
About Us
The UTOPIAE mission is to:
- Train, by research and by example, 15 Early Stage Researchers in the field of uncertainty quantification and optimisation to become leading independent researchers and entrepreneurs that will increase the innovation capacity of the EU.
- To equip the researchers with the skills they will need for successful careers in academia and industry.
- To develop fundamental mathematical methods and algorithms to bridge the gap between Uncertainty Quantification and Optimisation and between Probability Theory and Imprecise Probability Theory for Uncertainty Quantification to efficiently solve high-dimensional, expensive and complex engineering problems.
There are 2 of the 15 projects which are based at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Durham University:
Project ESR8: Prediction of System Reliability during Design Phases
Daniel Krpelik is the Early Stage Researcher working on ESR8 with supervisors Prof Frank Coolen and Dr Louis Aslett.
Objectives: To develop suitable theory of system reliability quantification, using imprecise probabilities, in order to reflect carefully the uncertainties involved in this process at different stages; To derive an approximation of the lower and upper probabilities of system functionalities; To upscale to the propagation of upper and lower previsions to large systems; To study a representation of uncertainty in multi-phased design of aerospace systems.
Project ESR9: Large Scale Simulation for Quantifying Severe Uncertainty with Imprecise Probabilities
Tathagata Basu is the Early Stage Researcher working on ESR9 with supervisors Dr Jochen Einbeck and Dr Matthias Troffaes.
Objectives: To investigate algorithms and methods for uncertainty quantification using statistical models for highly dimensional data with limited structural knowledge, in a way that leads to computationally efficient yet still reliable inference about the actual risks in the system; To investigate how standard statistical simulation approaches, such as for instance Markov chain Monte Carlo, can be extended to modelling scenarios involving imprecise priors or penalties; To derive theoretical results from small scale tests; To upscale the dimensionality of the application, depending on the results of the small scale tests.
Publications
The ESRs began their research at Durham University in November 2017. Outputs arising from the UTOPIAE@Durham project will be posted here.
- Krpelik, Coolen, Aslett, Imprecise probability inference on masked multicomponent system, In: Destercke S., Denoeux T., Gil M., Grzegorzewski P., Hryniewicz O. (eds) Uncertainty Modelling in Data Science. SMPS 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 832. Springer, Cham
- Krpelik, Huang, Aslett, Coolen, Reliability assessment of phased mission systems subjected to epistemic uncertainty and optimisation of the phase ordering, SECESA2018
- Krpelik, Coolen, Aslett, On Robust Markov Analysis for Reliability Assessment of Complex Systems using Imprecise Markov Chains, IDT2019
Events
UTOPIAE opening training school 2017
Opening training event for UTOPIAE ESRs in Glasgow, UK.
Lectures given by Durham University staff:
- Prof Frank Coolen - Introduction to Imprecise Probability and Imprecise Statistical Methods
- Prof Frank Coolen - Introduction to System Reliability with Imprecise Probability
- Dr Louis Aslett - Statistical Methods for System Reliability
- Dr Jochen Einbeck - Statistical Modelling and Regularisation
Durham-UTOPIAE Summer training school on Imprecise Probabilities
Training school event on Imprecise Probabilities in Durham, UK.
Lectures given by Durham University staff: